Rudger looked around. The hospital room he now occupied was a special room of sorts, used only by him.
In a place like this, Zero Order would fit right in.
There would be no one guarding the entrance, but the hospital itself would be heavily guarded.
As he slipped through the gap, he realized just how out of place he was. But he wasn't as nervous as he had been before.
He didn't know it then, but he was sure of it now.
"So, what brings you here?"
Zero Order has no intention of attacking him. He knows that he is not the real John Doe, but he watched the other First Orders interact with him.
There was only one conclusion Rudger could draw from this. Zero Order wants something from him, especially if he's willing to come to him like this.
Rudger didn't know what he wanted from him right now, because he hadn't given him any clues. But right here, right now, he might be able to find a clue.
Zero Order smiled, amused by Rudger's change in demeanor. He casually walked over to a chair off to one side of the VIP room and sat down.
Rudger pushed himself up from the bed. Judging by the fact that his clothes were still on, it didn't look like the hospital had done much to his body.
He had seen Madeline before he passed out, so he had been taken care of by Princess Eileen.
Rudger took a seat across from Zero Order.
The room was bathed in a bluish moonlight through the half-drawn curtains.
"Quite a nice setting for a quiet conversation, isn't it?"
"……."
"Part of me wants to go outside and get some fresh air and look at the stars, but I'm not the kind of person to drag a sick person around by force."
"Enough with the gossip."
"Mmm. Okay. If you don't want to do it, it wouldn't be polite to say more nonsense."
Zero Order seemed to take it for granted that Rudger would speak back to him. It's as if he's fully aware of his personality and takes it into account.
Before continuing the conversation, Zero Order placed a hand on the mask he wore over his face. With a click, he removed it and placed it carefully on the table.
"……."
Rudger watched the sequence of events in disbelief.
He hadn't expected Zero Order, who had been hiding his identity behind a mask, to suddenly show his bare face in front of him.
Aside from his surprise, Rudger's eyes scanned Zero Order's form, not wanting to lose sight of his true face.
Behind the mask, Zero Order was far from ordinary.
He'd expected him to be an incredibly horrific monster, or some other twisted creature. But in reality, Zero Order was no different than a normal man, and quite handsome.
His skin was white, and his hair was inky black. Even in the moonlight, his hair seemed to suck up all the light. It's just the right length, curly, and somehow soft.
He looked too good to be the mastermind of the Black Dawn, the organization that manipulated all the events of the world from behind the scenes.
"You look quite surprised. If we're going to have a proper conversation, we're going to have to do it face to face."
Zero Order smiled at Rudger. It was one of those smiles that were hard to read between the lines.
"I've seen what happened today from afar. The Liberation Army, warlocks, and demons."
"Wasn't this all your doing?"
Rudger asked, "Weren't you the one who taught the warlocks about the existence of the underground facility and enabled them to continue their experiments?"
Indeed, Zero Order knew all about it but he laughed lightly and shrugged.
"I see, that's what you're thinking, and it's a bit unfair. I didn't make them do that."
"You didn't make them do it?"
"Of course, I knew about the dead World Tree beneath the capital, and the demon sealed within."
The words gave Rudger an indescribable feeling.
Zero Order had drawn a line in the sand, as if that was all there was to it.
"But I can assure you, it wasn't me who leaked the information."
"Then it must have been Nikolai."
"Yes. Nikolai specializes in gathering information. I didn't ask him to do it, and I can't believe he's been doing it so secretly."
"You knew about it and let it happen?"
"I won't deny it, but considering how Nikolai usually is, it was a bit of a courtesy this time."
"He's the type to make a big deal out of things."
Zero Order didn't really argue that point.
"So, you wanted to see me because you saw me struggling. Are you going to give me a pat on the back for a job well done?"
"I'd be teasing you if I said you had a hard time. I'm here to see how things are going, and I have something to tell you."
Rudger thought about what Zero Order had said.
Zero Order had said they were looking for someone. That's why he sent John Doe to Theon.
Now that John Doe was dead, Rudger was the next in line to fulfill the task.
"Is the person you are looking for the owner of Judgment?"
Rudger was the first to speak.
Zero Order's ashen eyes flickered at the words. He tried not to show his emotions, but the reaction itself lent credence to Rudger's guess.
"You found it?"
"……."
Rudger glared at Zero Order, who looked expectantly in his direction, before answering.
"No."
"If you didn't find it, how do you know they have Judgement?"
"I've read the scriptures. It says that saints are born when the world is in great turmoil, and Judgment is one of those saints' powers."
"I don't understand why you're suddenly talking about the scriptures."
"It's because there's an entity that's always been mentioned in those texts."
Rudger remembered Basara's presence and also remembered his warning.
As they talked, Rudger continued to recall, organize, and reassemble information.
How did Zero Order know about the underground facility? Where had Zero Order heard that Basara was sealed in the roots of the dead World Tree?
And most of all, Zero Order had watched it all unfold.
"The demons from the scriptures. No, I should call them Apostles."
"……."
After smiling for the first time, a frost of expression descended on Zero Order's face.
"……Did Basara tell you that?"
"He didn't tell me about the existence of the other apostles until shortly before he died."
"I don't think it's because of his kinship with you. He just wanted to trouble you but he did tell you they existed, and that should have been enough of a clue for you."
"I won't deny it."
"Haha. Well, well. I would have preferred to keep my identity a secret."
Zero Order regretted that one of his hidden hands had been revealed.
"But you don't seem too surprised that I guessed your identity, do you?"
"Is that something I should be surprised about?"
"What? Hahaha, you're a funny guy after all, my eyes weren't wrong."
Zero Order revealed that he is a demon.
Rudger takes it for granted but there was something bizarre about the two of them, to say the least.
"Since you know my identity, I assume you've guessed, right?"
"Yes. I figured if a demon from the scriptures was looking for something, that's the only way to find it."
"That's true. Normal people wouldn't bother with that kind of scriptures, but since I've come this far, I don't need to hide it anymore. That's right, I'm looking for a saint candidate."
Zero Order mouthed the word "candidate." It might have been an insignificant detail to overlook, but Rudger didn't miss it.
"Why are you looking for them? Is it to get rid of them?"
"Is it because I'm a demon that you think so? I'll leave that part unanswered. I have my own issues."
"Whatever it is, the answer is no. The idea of finding a saint candidate in the first place is too far-fetched."
"Yeah, well, that's what I thought. It's not that easy to find them, they might not be awakened right now, and we don't know when they'll pop up, but one thing's for sure, the candidate for the Judgment Eye is definitely in Theon."
There was conviction in Zero Order's voice.
There was no way he could have known that the Judgment's candidate was in Theon from an ordinary information book. As an apostle, he must have known through some other means.
"So I'll ask again, just to be sure. Are you sure you haven't found the candidate?"
There was something irresistible about Zero Order's stare. He was suspicious of Rudger now.
If it were anyone other than Rudger, they would have allowed themselves a moment's respite. But Rudger had seen it all before. He'd had enough of this sort of thing.
"I still haven't found it. I've only just realized that I was a candidate for the Judgment in the first place."
"Hmm, okay. Let's move on from that for now."
Fortunately, Zero Order didn't seem to want to probe further.
"I'm sure you have your own questions. Something about the apostles, for example, as you may have heard from Basara?"
'Finally, something important.'
Rudger shifted his stance, ready to listen to Zero's next words.
"As you know, we are what you humans call demons, opponents of the will of the Lord Lumensis, planners of disasters that want to plunge the world into chaos."
"You seem pretty proud of yourself when you say that."
"Because I deserve it, but you see, we're not demons. We call each other apostles."
"Apostles."
The word apostle means a messenger or an agent sent by God.
Indeed, Basara had searched desperately for his god before he died.
Rudger never asked the Zero Order if they had a god they served, or if there was a god other than Lumensis. And Zero Order smirked, as if he'd expected that from Rudger.
"I see. You know the hidden truths of this world, too."
"To a certain extent."
"Yes. So, Rudger Chelici, what do you see in this world?"
"……."
Rudger closed his eyes for a moment.
Zero Order watched him in silence, patiently waiting for him to answer.
When Rudger had finished, he spoke.
"A cage."
"A cage?"
"Yes. This world is a cage, covered with thin, tight iron bars, beautiful and repulsive, vast and absurdly narrow. We are trapped in it, unaware that we have been deprived of our freedom."
"Indeed……."
Zero Order nodded in satisfaction.
"When I first saw you that day, in front of the burning warehouse, I could tell you were something else."
"Someone else?"
"Yes. You're human, but you see the world the same way we do. You see it through a different lens, ones that no one else does."
That alone qualified him but Rudger dismissed Zero Order's words with a snort.
"Even if that's how you see the world, there's no way I'm going to get along with you, the one behind all the events."
"Yes. I recognize that, because if you look back at where you've come from, you're very different from me."
Zero Order made a comment that suggested he was aware of Rudger's past behavior.
It was not just a guess, Zero Order actually knew.
As much as he has a hidden hand, Zero Order must also have a hidden hand. Especially considering he's a demon, not a mere mortal.
"But one day you're going to have to make a choice, you know, because this world is too big a place for one person to navigate alone."
"So we're going to hold hands?"
"That's what it sounded like, though it would be better if we did."
"……."
Rudger stared into Zero Order face but all he could see in his expression was favor.
Maybe it was because he'd found a colleague who saw the world the same way he did, or was it because there was another reason.
Rudger didn't know nor did he think the man would tell him if he asked.
It was then that a third party interrupted the conversation.
"How long have you two been talking to each other?"
The voice came from the window so Rudger and Zero Order's gazes naturally turned there.
A woman was leaning against the window, which had been open for some time. She was dressed in loose-fitting adventuring clothes that exposed her shoulders and collarbones, and a corset that cinched her waist tightly.
She wore thigh-high black leather boots and clutched a parasol in one hand but it was her hair that drew the most attention. Her mid-length hair was half white, half black, centered on her brow.
Rudger had never seen anything like it before.
"Didn't I tell you to wait outside, Helia?"
It was then that Zero Order spoke.
"I was waiting, but the person who said he'd be back didn't come back in time, so I got bored and made my own move."
The woman named Helia turned her gaze toward Rudger as she spoke. Her two yellow eyes sparkled as if she had found something interesting.
"So, you're the human who took down that Basara?"
"……."
Rudger's expression hardened at the woman's words.
The ease with which she spoke to Zero Order and the way she waited until he spoke to her gave away her identity.
'I had a feeling she wasn't a normal human.'
He didn't think he'd see another apostle in this room but Helia smiled wryly and waved at Rudger.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Helia, the newest First Order."